The Bank of America Charitable Foundation recently awarded Junior Achievement of New Hampshire a $12,500 grant to support its programs in the Manchester schools.  Bank of America has supported Junior Achievement of New Hampshire for many years in its efforts to provide inspiring and innovative economic education programs to students in grades K-12.  Among the programs Bank of America supports through its funding are JA Dollars & $ense™, afterschool programs for third, fourth and fifth graders at Beech Street Elementary School in Manchester.

”Bank of America recognizes the importance of financial literacy education for our community’s youth and is pleased to, once again, work with Junior Achievement to deliver these important resources,” said John F. Weeks, president, Bank of America New Hampshire.  “These funds will help our children gain the essential skills they need to be successful in their academic careers and, in turn, their professional careers.”

Beech Street Elementary school presently has the largest multicultural student population in New Hampshire.  Approximately 50 percent of the school’s 650 students in kindergarten through grade five are in the English Language Learners Program.  Beech Street Elementary’s population includes students from Vietnam, Bosnia, Kosovo, Russia, Korea, Kenya, Somalia, Liberia, Ivory Coast and several Spanish-speaking countries.

By partnering with the Beech Street School’s 21st Century Community Learning Center, Junior Achievement is able to utilize funds provided by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to offer economic education programs in an afterschool setting.  21st Century Community Learning Centers provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, with a focus on students from high-poverty, low-performing schools. The program helps students meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math; offers students a broad array of enrichment activities that can complement their regular academic programs; and offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children.

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy through hands-on programs.  With a committed volunteer network, JA offers in-school and after-school programs that help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace.  Our purpose is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.  Junior Achievement of New Hampshire, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization. We do not charge schools for the JA programs they request.  JA is supported by corporate contributions, individual donations, foundation grants and special events.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Muir, Development Manager at Junior Achievement of New Hampshire, 530 Chestnut St, Suite 201,  Manchester, NH  03101.  Ph: 603-626-1918  jmuir@janh.org

Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy
Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, Bank of America will embark in 2009 on a new, ten-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave more than $200 million in 2007, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world and the second largest donor of all U.S. corporations in cash contributions. Bank of America approaches giving through a national strategy called "neighborhood excellence" under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Through Team Bank of America, bank associate volunteers contributed more than 650,000 hours in 2007 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.